Professionalism.guideA practical framework for working well with others

Working with others

How to run a meeting that reaches a decision

You have called people together and you need them to leave having decided something. This guide helps you prepare, open well, keep the discussion productive, and close with a decision everyone understands.

15 topics · 85 min · Press play to listen in order, or read any topic.

Groundwork

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Phase 1 · 4 topics · 23 min

Prepare the decision

A meeting without a defined decision produces discussion and nothing else. Do the thinking beforehand.

  1. Find out what each person needs from the decision and where they are likely to disagree, before they are all in one room.

    4:53 Read

  2. Invite the people who must decide and those who will carry it out, and consider what each needs to hear.

    6:04 Read

  3. Decide what everyone must understand in order to choose. That, and little else, belongs on the agenda.

    5:56 Read

  4. Plan a length that people can stay attentive for. A short meeting with a clear question beats a long one with a vague one.

    6:01 Read

Your taskBefore continuing, write the decision the meeting must make as a single question.

Phase 2 · 7 topics · 39 min

Guide the discussion

Open on time and with a purpose. Disagreement is what the meeting is for; your task is to keep it about the decision.

  1. Start on time and end on time. It respects the people who came promptly and tells everyone the meeting has a purpose.

    5:41 Read

  2. Understand the facilitator's job: guide the discussion toward an outcome, encourage directness, and steer away from conflict.

    5:28 Read

  3. Watch the room as well as listen to it. Who has gone quiet, who is leaning back, who keeps starting to speak?

    5:35 Read

  4. Use questions to draw out people who have not spoken and to test claims that have gone unchallenged.

    5:24 Read

  5. Encourage argument from facts and reasoning. A real debate between positions is how the better option is found.

    5:26 Read

  6. Make it easy for someone to object. A concern that is not voiced in the meeting will surface later, when it is costlier.

    5:14 Read

  7. Step in early when an exchange becomes personal. Calming things quickly is kinder and more effective than waiting.

    5:52 Read

Your taskBefore continuing, prepare your two opening sentences and what you will say to bring a discussion back when it wanders.

Phase 3 · 4 topics · 23 min

Close with a decision

Do not let the meeting end with general agreement and no specifics.

  1. Where positions remain apart, look for an option each side can accept and that still serves the purpose.

    5:33 Read

  2. Say the decision aloud, then say it again in the summary. People remember what they have heard more than once.

    5:55 Read

  3. Put the decision, the owners, and the dates in writing and send it out the same day.

    5:51 Read

  4. Agree how progress will be reported. A decision with no follow-up is easily forgotten.

    5:46 Read

Your taskFinish by sending the decision, the owners, and the dates to everyone who attended and everyone affected.